Let me teach you my language
by An-Uncreative-Mind
Summary: School is naturally a stressful place, but for Zacharie (a new student who has just moved to the USA from France) it only ever seems to get worse. With language and bullying problems, Zach begins to think there is no escape from this all time low. That is however, until he meets the Batter.
1. Chapter 1

A new school in a new country, as if school wasn't bad by itself. That was just how it was for Zacharie. Moving to the USA from France, a move his parents decided was smart after him having only a few English lessons. Of course, it wasn't. He eyed all the other kids, watching their mouths move, but not understanding a single word that came from them. He watched their eyes follow him with every step he took, and there was that gut feeling that they were talking about him. Well, it would make sense: the new kid always had to be gossiped about. Zacharie just wished he could understand their mockeries.

It almost saddened him, watching all the other students with their friends. Even in his old school he never really had any friends. He was just that kid that sat on his own in lunch, watching everyone else, trying not to be noticed by a few certain people, always hiding and feeling unsafe. Zacharie really didn't want to think about that though, he still lived in constant fear.

This time, however, he was determined to change that; he didn't want to feel afraid anymore. They couldn't hurt him now. After he was confident with his English, Zach promised himself that he would talk to people. This time he would try to make friends.

The French boy stood still for a moment, tugging on the cat-like mask that covered his face to secure his features were hidden from sight. In fact, he was surprised that he hadn't been asked about it yet, but there was still time for that. That was another thing that worried him. There was a few reasons why he never had friends back at his other school, and his mask was one of them. That, and the factor that caused him to wear it.

He decided, however, that he'd be more open about it this time, and that he wouldn't just shoo people away when they asked about it. That way, he could make friends. Secrets were a main part of friendship after all, weren't they? Zach just hoped he wouldn't tell the wrong people.

There were still ten minutes until lessons started (which were replaced by English lessons for him), so there wouldn't be any harm in exploring the surroundings for a short while. The playground seemed like a reasonable place to start, being that was where he currently stood. It also gave him a chance to look at some of new people, so that he could decide who he wanted as a friend. He tugged the straps on his backpack and cracked a small smile as he scanned his eyes over the place- apart from the language difference, it didn't look too bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

The baseball field. That's what caught his eye. Zach didn't know why, but it did. He noticed a few people practicing there, perhaps that was it. Regardless, he slowly made his way over there, looking at everyone around him as he did and noticing a few starers. No surprise there. The masked boy just hoped that the baseball players wouldn't mind him watching, but surely they got it a lot, right? Of course, he'd leave if he was told to, but he always found sports fascinating. Only watching them, of course, he could never play them; he wasn't skilled enough.

Most of them looked pretty intimidating, that's the first thing Zacharie noticed. He was a small boy, lanky too. He'd always had such a slender figure. The baseball players, on the other hand, were mostly tall guys, built with quite a lot of muscle. The French kid kept his distance though- he only really wanted to watch from a distance anyway.

"Batter up!"

The quote caused a small plethora of laughter amongst the sportsmen, as if the person shouting it had made some kind of witty remark. The man answering the call didn't look too amused, instead wore a stubborn look. "The joke's getting old now. I think you need to stop." He stood firmly in the batting square, looking ready to hit any ball thrown at him. It was obvious that the pitcher tried to make the ball hard to bat, but without success. The batting boy gave what could only be explained as the perfect swing, sending the ball flying for only God knows how far.

Zacharie felt his jaw drop. Surely things like that were only possible in video games and movies?

Obviously not.

Besides, the batsman didn't even seem to impressed. He gave a shrug and rubbed the back of his head, as if he expected to do better. Zach, on the other hand, was still in total awe. He even began to question if this was reality

"Fucking hell, Batter, who's going to go and get that now?" The remark was said in a rather joking manner, it was almost like the team mate was trying to congratulate the superpowered male.

He wasn't having none of it though, for he just left the field, taking the bat with him as well. "Not me." Was all he insisted in his emotionless voice, passing Zacharie and giving him just the slightest glance.

For some reason though, it left an imprint on Zach. The baseball player's eyes were a reddish colour, but despite their fiery appearance, the look that came from them was cold. Not cold as in intimidating, but it was enough to send the smallest shiver down the masked boy's spine. In fact, the batsman almost seemed curious.

The eye contact only lasted for a mere second though.

Zacharie did find this rather strange. He found _everything _about this guy strange to tell the truth. But Zach was not one to judge, he couldn't be. He just watched the bat wielder make his way to the school building, pondering what he was planning to do with the bat exactly.

Once the other male had gone out of sight and he had fully took in what he had just witnessed, the masked boy checked his watch. There was now only four minutes until he began his English learning journey, giving him just enough time to find and make his way to his classroom.

Gripping the straps of his backpack once again, Zacharie steadily made his way to the school building. If there was one thing certain, it was that once Zach was confident with his English, that baseball guy was going to be the first person he would try to befriend.


	3. Chapter 3

The first English lesson was what could be described as a living hell. All Zacharie learnt was how to say 'hello' and 'goodbye', along with a few colours. Most importantly he learnt how to count to ten, which was of course extraordinarily exciting. He already new most of that stuff anyway, so in all it was a waste of time. Obviously, Zacharie could really make friends by obnoxiously shouting the word "blue" at them.

But that was only the first part; Zach hoped that his next dosage would be more effective. At least the teacher was someone he could actually understand, since she too could speak French. Plus, he was free from boredom central for a short while-twenty minutes to be exact-due to the fact that it was break. It was a long and hard decision when it came to thinking up how to spend this short period of time. Especially when he would be spending this short period of time alone. He'd already watched a group of boys play baseball, so he tried to dismiss that idea. Although it was hard: he was ever so tempted to go and watch the boy that he had decided to call 'The Baseball guy' again after the performance he saw earlier in the morning.

Where had he got to anyway? Zach spent the majority of the English lesson pondering why he had taken the bat. Did he break something with it? Zacharie never heard a smash. Was it even his bat? He would never know. Perhaps it was just for self-defense reasons. However the boy sure did seem capable of knocking a man unconscious with his bare hands, never mind the bat. Besides, he didn't look like the kind of person you'd want to mess with: he was muscular and tall, his face seemed to always give the illusion that he was angry-if that even was an illusion that is. The more the masked boy thought about him, the more eager he was to run up to him and say hi. That was the only thing he actually could say, however. He could always start counting in front of him, Zach was sure 'Baseball guy' would be super impressed.

Anyway, the baseball player was only the first person on the masked boy's 'people I want to be friends with' list, not the last. Zacharie needed to find other people. After all, 'The Baseball guy' didn't seem like the type of guy who would accept the French boy as a friend straight away. Or even at all for that matter. He didn't even look like he was friends with the other baseball players, the people who he probably spent the most time with. Befriending him would be a long and hard process, but Zach was willing to go through it if it meant he could have a pal as cool as him.

This time his eyes drifted over to the basketball court-another sport that Zacharie found interesting to watch. There were people practising on it, and even from a distance the French boy knew they were good. He still wanted to get a closer look though.

He would have too, if he didn't feel a strong force pushing against him.

A force strong enough to push him to the ground.

It took Zacharie a moment to realise what had happened. All he felt was pain and nervousness, but couldn't comprehend why. When he finally noticed he was no longer standing, and was in fact lying on the gravel floor face-or at least mask-first, he scrambled to get to his feet, but was only knocked back down by a pair of feet which then rolled him onto his back. And at that moment, Zach stared fear right in the eyes.

A group of boys, much taller than he was, stood circled around him. All looking down on him, with smirks on their faces and mischief in their eyes. This wasn't good news.

"So what's the deal with the mask then?"

"You can't just stroll in with it and expect not to tell us."

"You can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. Whatever one you choose, we're still going to find out."

What were they saying?

Out of all the times he could have been assaulted, these jerks had to choose now. Maybe if Zach just screamed "green" at them, they'd feel threatened and leave him alone. Highly unlikely. Instead, he just tried to wriggle away, despite the fact that one of the boys' feet were placed either side him, squeezing him in.

"You gonna tell us then? Or you could just take it off. We're waiting, masky."

'Please just shut up and leave me alone, I don't know what you're saying' was pretty much the only thing rushing through Zach's head.

"Suit yourself." One of the boys scoffed after a moment of agonizing silence, kicking Zacharie in the ribs full force. He wore the most horrid smirk, enough to make anyone want to punch him right in his smug face. Zach would have, if he wasn't whining in pain and unable to get up.

The masked boy felt a tear fall down his cheek, and the words 'Not again' began echoing in his head over and over again. 'Not now. Not again.'

A lot of other students had decided to crowd round also, which almost gave Zach a sense of hope. Surely one of them had to help him. Surely.

Zacharie was wrong.

They all just watched. A few of them laughed. Zacharie just wanted to scream. He wanted to scream so loud, but what difference would that make? It was clear he was fighting this battle alone.

A battle he was bound to lose.

Another boy, the one that was practically straddling him, then stomped on his chest, causing Zach to jolt up and wheeze. Zacharie just wanted to disappear at that moment. He wanted this to all be some kind of terrible dream, but the pain was too real. As was the fear.

But still the words echoed on: 'Not again. Not again.'

Perhaps if he closed he eyes, it wouldn't be so bad. That was an idea. So he did-he lay there and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them again, he would be safe and fine. He hoped that he wouldn't be in pain, and that this would never had happened. He was lying to himself, but it was worth a try.

He didn't have his eyes closed for long though.

His eyes darted open at the sound of a voice booming over the sniggering crowd. A voice that strangely seemed to be sticking up for him. Also, a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

"What the fuck is going on?"

There was aggression in the voice, stubbornness too, but for some reason it made Zacharie feel just the slightest bit better. Why did he recognise it?

It made the bullies react at least, for they all turned their heads towards the owner of the voice, and took a step away from the French boy. For some reason, they all looked pretty scared.

"Nothing Batter! Nothing at all!" The boy's voice was shaky, a few stutters lingered in as he took yet another step away from Zacharie.

Batter?

Batter!

That's what 'Baseball guy' had been called, Zach was sure of it. The voice, the low, aggressive voice, that was his all right.

"Nothing?" Batter still had that bat on him-it was resting on his right shoulder, both his hands gripping onto it as if he was ready to deliver a swing.

"Nothing." Another one of the group of boys assured, his voice just as jittery as the other's.

"Listen," the Batter replied, glaring at everyone surrounding Zacharie-a real threatening glare. "You all leave that kid alone, or balls won't be the only thing I'll be hitting with this bat."


	4. Chapter 4

Sure as hell, the bullies went running. As well as the crowd of bystanders that thought that it would be fun to watch the French boy suffer. Of course, the whole 'white knight' skit sure did make Zacharie wonder exactly how much power Batter had in this place. It was apparent he was feared by many, and in a sense Zacharie could tell why. Regardless, Zach was just so happy and confused that the batsman had saved him.

When the masked boy had finally snapped out of his thoughts, he noticed an outstretched hand in front of him. It seemed pretty welcoming, but the person who was offering it did not. In fact, he looked a little pissed off, but Zach had already assumed that that was just how the Batter was. Eventually, the hand was taken, and with Batter's help Zacharie was lifted to his feet. The Batter sure was strong, Zacharie could tell by the way he was whisked to his feet so easily.

Now was time for the difficult part.

"Merci..." Surely the Batter new what that meant, right? If not, at least he would know that English wasn't a language Zacharie was familiar with. In all honestly, Zach was sure he knew how to say 'thank you', but he didn't want to mess up, so he thought it would be better to play it safe.

The reaction that Zacharie got wasn't exactly the reaction he was hoping for. He was hoping that the Batter would smile, and reply with a 'you're welcome', or 'any time', or maybe even a 'let's hang out some time', but instead he just received a shrug and a grunt, followed by the Batter just simply walking away.

He was fine when Batter was there, but as soon as he left, Zacharie realised just how much pain the boys had inflicted. His ribs ached and screamed out in pain, and his lungs and stomach were still having a hard time operating. The small boy hunched over and whined, trying to breath in as much oxygen as his aching lungs would allow; it came out as some kind of wheeze, as if he had just breathed in a load of poisonous gas.

It was a good job these sounds had escaped him, as it caught the attention of the Batter, who had turned around and was angrily making his way back over to Zach. He raised an eyebrow and silently waved his hand, gesturing for the French boy to follow him.

Zacharie did just that, straightening himself up and trotting after the Batter until he was right next to him. He was staring politely up at him, a small smile hidden under his mask. Batter however was just staring directly ahead, almost as if he was trying to ignore the fact that the smaller boy was right next to him. Zach could even understand if the Batter was in fact _embarrassed_ to be walking with him, since the Batter was so cool and Zacharie was so... Well, uncool.

The taller male took Zacharie through places he had not yet been. The school sure was a big place. Of course, the pair received quite a lot of stares, which the Batter simply ignored; it wasn't as easy for Zacharie though. It bothered him, but at the same time it made Zacharie almost feel proud since the Batter was obviously a known icon around the school.

However, it only _looked _like they were friends, there was no evidence that they actually were. Not _yet_ anyway. Regardless, Batter had technically saved Zacharie, and he sure was grateful for that. The French boy literally had to fight back urges to just stop and throw his arms around the baseball player.

That probably wouldn't end well anyway.

It wasn't long until the two reached their destination, which appeared to be the school nurse's office. The Batter was the one to knock and open the door, lightly pushing the smaller boy in.

"New kid. Got beat up by some kids. I think he's French."

The nurse gave the pair a small smile. She was a small elderly lady, in her early 60s it seemed. She seemed nice enough. "Thank you Mr-"

"Batter. It's the Batter." And with that, he gave a small nod towards Zacharie and left.

After about 20 minutes of being prodded and asked questions he didn't understand, Zacharie was released. The nurse simply issued him with a small ice pack, which he had to hold against his still painful ribs; not much help at all, really. He was already 15 minutes late to his English lesson, but at least he could actually _tell_ the teacher what had happened.

After the explanation for why he was late and why he looked like a wounded soldier, the first thing Zacharie wanted to know was how to say 'thank you for saving me earlier, I think we should hang out sometime, you know, if you wanted to. I mean you don't have to, but I think you're really cool and I want to be your friend, plus you're really good at baseball.'

The teacher simply shortened it to: 'thank you for saving me, maybe we should hang out some time?'

She wrote it down for him on a small piece of paper, and asked who he was planning to say that to, exactly.

Zacharie then spent about half an hour explaining the whole ordeal with the Batter to her. He made sure not to leave out a single detail, no matter how small.

The rest of the lesson was spent learning shapes, and the names of lessons, and, most importantly, how to properly introduce himself. The Batter should think himself lucky really, he was going to be the first person Zacharie was going to talk to (or at least _try_ to talk to).

The best thing was, Zacharie was actually _excited_ to be talking to him. Never before had Zach felt like this when it came to talking to people, he usually just turned shy and walked away.

Batter was different. Zach couldn't quite put his finger on why, but he was.

As soon as he was dismissed, the French boy literally sprinted out of the classroom and into the playground. Now was the hard part: finding Batter. The baseball field seemed like a good place to start since that was of course where he first encountered him.

He jogged over, holding both the straps of his backpack. A few of the players he had saw earlier were already playing, but Batter wasn't with them. He wasn't sitting on the sidelines and watching either.

Zach looked around frantically, he needed to see the Batter. He even had the small slip of paper his teacher had given him in his hand. He didn't want to ask any of the other baseball players-they still intimidated him. In the end the small boy just resulted in choking out a small: "Batter?"

A hand was placed firmly on his shoulder, a deep voice echoing right behind him. "Right here, kid."

Zacharie tensed up, quickly turning around to face the desired person. The Batter still wore his emotionless expression, but there was something in his voice that sounded a little happy, _friendly_ almost.

Now the nerves kicked in. Zacharie _promised_ himself he wouldn't let this happen, but he was just so scared that he was going to mess this up.

"Um, hello," That was a pretty good start, despite the obvious shakiness in his voice. "My name is Zacharie and I'm 16 years old." That was the introduction sorted, at least. He then looked down at the piece of paper in his hand, beginning to read it out loud. "Thank you, Batter, for saving me. Maybe- Um, maybe-" He was shaking now, what if the answer was no? "Maybe we should hang out some time?"

A few of the others had obviously overheard, and a few were laughing quietly to themselves. Some even made remarks like: "The frog's got a crush on you, Batter!" or "Is that your new little friend, Batter?" One pair of boys were whispering something to each other, looking over at the Batter and Zacharie and eventually breaking into hysterics.

Batter just gave them all the same look he gave the group of kids that had surrounded and assaulted Zacharie. Then he spoke, his loud voice silencing the other sniggering players, "Hello, Zacharie. I'm Batter. I'm 17 years old. You're welcome, and yes. Yes we can hang out."

A wide smile came onto Zacharie's hidden mouth. Firstly because the Batter had actually said _yes_, and secondly because he actually _understood _what Batter had said. "Thank you, Batter, thank you!"

This time there was no second thoughts, Zach literally threw his arms around the Batter, burying his face in the other's chest and breathing in his scent. Zach couldn't quite place what Batter smelt like, exactly, but he sure did like it. It almost felt as if Zach was hugging a bear.

To put it simply, the Batter was taken by surprise. He even went red a little, and let out a silent gasp. His face didn't change though, except for his eyes opening just the slightest bit wider.

He didn't quite know what to do. Obviously, he wasn't going to return the hug in front of everyone-he was already getting hollered with a few wolf whistles, and even: "Look! Batter's got a boyfriend!"

After a short moment, he just lightly patted the smaller boy's back, or backpack at least. "Hey, Zacharie?" The Batter began, his voice was quite stern. The others were receiving another one of his death stares. "How about we hang out now? _Right _now?"


	5. Chapter 5

"Assholes. The lot of them." The Batter was pissed off alright, and those words were the first things that escaped his mouth as soon as the pair had left the baseball field. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by the remarks he had received, he was just annoyed. Really, he had used 'hang out with Zacharie' as a way of escaping them, but he wasn't going to let the masked kid down.

Zacharie was just looking up Batter, his head gently cocked to the side. He was happy, but he just wished he knew more English, that way he could start a conversation with the other male instead of just staring up at him. The main thing that mattered was that he wasn't alone, and even though the pair may not have yet been considered _friends _yet, at least they were on their way there.

After a while, the Batter just shook his head, snapping out of a deep thought. "Anyway, follow me." He sighed, accompanied by the same gesture he had given the French boy earlier that day.

Again, Zach just silently followed the Batter, this time managing to ignore the sniggers and stares; he didn't need them, he had the Batter (at least, it seemed like he did). Of course, this time they weren't going to the nurse's office, and instead were heading towards the crowded dining hall.

To no surprise, the first group of kids the pair set their eyes on were the boys that found fun in kicking the shit out of Zacharie earlier in the day; they were all crowded in the corner nearest the entrance. They all looked over at the two, some nudging the same boy that had pinned Zach down, as if encouraging him to do something.

He did just that.

"Oi masky! You got the Batter running circles around you now? Too scared to walk around school? Man up, faggot!" The other immature boys found humour in this, as well as a few random people in the dining hall.

The Batter's reaction was almost involuntary. He stormed over to the flock of boys, pushing through them all until he reached the one who had hollered the remark. He was pushed against the wall almost instantly by the force of the Batter's hand gripping onto his neck.

"You leave Zacharie alone! You hear?!" Batter's voice boomed, it was filled with rage. "You leave him alone or you'll have hell coming right at you! All of you! He's new and hardly understands any English as it is! Plus, I am _not_ running circles around him, but someone has to stick up for him when there's assholes like you around, don't they?!"

It scared Zach a little-Batter's aggression that is-but he knew he should be thankful, he was sticking up for him after all.

In fact, he wasn't the only one: the entire dining hall let out a surprised gasp.

The strangled boy tried his best to spit out an apology, but Batter's hand was wrapped so tight around his neck, he literally began to go pale. For a second, it even looked as if he was dead.

A loud series of coughing proved the boy to be alive though. He involuntarily sank to the floor as he was released, gasping for air.

The Batter walked back to Zacharie, who was still completely in shock, and grabbed his shoulder, dragging him away from the crowd. He dragged him over to the far corner, before taking a seat at one of the tables.

It took a while for Zach to snap out of his trance; he hadn't even realised he had been moved. Eventually, the masked boy sat down opposite his newfound friend, looking up at him through the blacked out eye-holes of the mask.

The taller male seemed to be deep in thought, his cheek was resting in the palm of his right hand, his fingers drumming on the table. He was staring straight ahead, right past Zacharie, completely ignoring the stares he was receiving from the French boy.

This gave Zach a chance to study him, he hadn't really done so before hand. His eyes wandered around the Batter's face, picking up everything: his sharp jawline, his dark red eyes, his thick black eyebrows, his slightly pointed nose...

No... He couldn't feel that way... _He'd only just met him._

"Hey, Zach..." The Batter said quietly after about 10 minutes of silence, his eyes were still focused on the wall behind Zacharie.

"Oui? Um, yes?" The small boy perked up, changing his stare into a gaze. He just hoped that he would be able to understand what was about to be said to him.

"I have an idea," Batter replied, sitting up and stretching. A small smile slowly crept onto his pale face. "Let me teach you my language..."


End file.
